he was elected to the senate in 1980 and represented pennsylvania for 30 years. president obama said specter was "fiercely independent, never putting party or ideology ahead of the people he was chosen to serve." arlen specter was 82 years old. i'm don lemon in atlanta, thank you very much for watching tonight. make sure you have a good night and great week. see you back here next week. this comes before round two. we break down the numbers straight ahead. plus, brand-new video just released of the sky dive from space. you'll see what this crazy daredevil saw as he plunged to earth. >> he's alive, though. we're so happy to report that. an epic smackdown, the yankees lose again to the

detroit tigers. we have highlights for you coming up. >> and, man, are they highlights. when we say highlights, we mean highlights. >> welcome to "early start." i'm zoraida sambolin. >> i'm john berman. it's 5:00 a.m. in the east. we are going to begin with the highly anticipated rematch, the second presidential debate is just a day away and the race is as tight as it gets. two brand-new polls to tell but this morning, first from "the washington post" and abc news, the president with a slim three-point lead among likely voters. that's well within the poll's margin of error and even closer in his politico george washington university poll released just seconds ago. the president's lead among likely voters just one point, a statistical dead heat and in the battleground states, the poll has mitt romney ahead of the president by two points essentially tied while the abc

news/"the washington post" poll shows obama with a lead. mark preston is live from hofstra university in long island, the scene of the crucial presidential debate and looks like it's close, mark. >> it certainly is close, john. we just got a few weeks until election day and really this race has tightened up so much on the line right now. mitt romney is hoping to turn in another strong performance, much like he did two weeks ago while president obama has to make up for that lackluster debate he had, in fact, one of his advisers was on "state of the union" robert gibbs and addressed, gave us a little bit of an insight into what president obama is likely to do tuesday night. >> walked off that stage and he also knew as he's watched the tape of that debate that he's got to be more energetic. i think you'll see somebody who's very passionate about the choice that our country facing and putting that choice in front of voters.

>> reporter: ed gillespie was also on "state of the union," senior adviser more romney. this is what he told candy. >> this is a choice election and the fact is what we saw is even if he changes his trial and whatever political tactic the president settles on being in his best interest he can't change his record and he can't change his policy. >> there you go. so much on the line right now, john. so much on the line, second presidential debate tomorrow here at hoff sfra university. >> it's so interesting to hear republicans describe this as a choice election. for so long that was what the democrats were pushing to and shows the confidence in a way that the republican party has gained since the first debate. this debate coming up will have a decidedly different look and feel to it, though, right? >> it will. this is going to involve actual questions from voters, in fact, the voters are going to come from here in new york, they are uncommitted voters.

they haven't decided who they're going to work for. new york is not a battleground state but will give us a flavor of some of the questions that the voters have and not necessarily from us journalists. mitt romney, john, will get the first question. there will be no closing statements. all in all, a 90-minute debate. one more debate after this and then, of course, john, as we said, it is all on the line tomorrow night. >> and, mark, we just a look at live pictures inside the debate hall which will be moderated from cnn's very own candy crowley tomorrow night on strong island, mark preston will be there. always great to talk to you. we will see you real soon. just ahead reaction from ana navarro and richard socarides. here it is. this is where candy crowley will anchor starting tomorrow night at 7:00 eastern time.

stephen colbert says there's a difference between the two. he says he doesn't know what that difference is. colbert clarified what he expects to see from both obama and romney on nbc's "meet the press." >> i think there's a possibility that obama would be, say, more aggressive -- a more aggressive reformer changer in the second act of his presidency and i don't really know how -- i also don't know how mitt romney would govern. he might govern as a technocrat. that seems to have been his career like the guy from pepsi who comes in to run gm m. he hasn't seen the books yet. >> colbert said he would not run for office adding "i have said terrible things with a straight face." can you imagine the political ads that could run against me. >> that's as serious as i've ever seen him. five minutes past the hour. coming up the nobel committee in sweden set to announce the winner of this year's nobel

prize for economics. who will it be? we'll have that for you at 7:00 a.m. eastern time. the number of fungal meningitis cases keeps going up, 205 people are now infected but the number of people who died is unchanged. it stands at 15. 14 states are now reporting cases with tennessee, michigan and virginia, the hardest hit. >> pretrial hearings are getting under way with italy for the captain of the "costa concordia" that ran aground the coast of italy killing 30 people. the captain, frances kuo schettino is facing manslaughter charges. bla blackbox data is expected to be revealed during this week's hearings. >> the detroit tigers now halfway to the world series. they beat the new york yankees, 3-0 on sunday. that's the second game of their american league championship series. the tigers winning the first two games on the road. game three tomorrow in detroit. the st. louis cardinals drew

first blood in the nlcs beating the giants, 6-4. they'll play game two tonight. >> watch out for those cardinals. last team to sneak into the playoffs. did it last year. did it again this year. i don't know. six minutes after the hour. felix baumgartner rose to the edge of space, 24 miles up and jumped. i broke the sound barrier on the way down. no one has ever done that outside of a vehicle and for a few scary moments during this free fall baumgartner spun wildly but he says he managed to stabilize himself. >> started spinning so violent, spun me around in all different areas and i was always trying to figure out how to stop this, putting one arm out but you're always late because at that speed when you travel at that speed and that suit is pressurized, you don't feel the air at all. >> one of the craziest pictures i've seen ever.

he is going out on top. he says this is his final jump. i can't imagine why. he wants to become a helicopter rescue pilot. >> all right, it's meant to promote tolerance. but nearly 200 schools are backing out of mix it up at lunch day. what they say this really promotes is straight ahead. [ woman ] ring. ring. progresso. your soups are so awesomely delicious my husband and i can't stop eating 'em! what's...that... on your head? can curlers! tomato basil, potato with bacon... we've got a lot of empty cans. [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup.

welcome back to "early start." exactly 11 minutes after the hour. i'm john berman? and i'm zoraida sambolin. nice to have you. the 14-year-old pakistani girl shot in the head is expected to lapd later in morning in britain. she'll be treated at a facility tore children with severe injuries. the taliban tried to kill malala last week because she is an outspoken of the right of pakistani girls to get an education, the taliban condemns that as western thinking. their attempt to silence her so

violently spoke outrage and atika shubert joins us live from london. can you give us insight into the decision to transfer malala to england. can there a concern that the taliban could still target her in pakistan? >> well, there's still concerns for her safety and the taliban have continued to threaten her. she's actually been put under armed guard. however, in this case, it does seem it's really about her medical care. the decision was taken to transport her to birmingham in the uk where she will be put in a hospital to specifically treat children with severe rehabilitation concerns. specifically you might remember that she was shot basically in the back -- near the back of her head, a bullet removed from her neck which left her in critical condition and extensive damage to the bones in her curl and neurologic damage, as well. so this is what doctors in britain will be looking to do to try and rehabilitate her and

repair the damage. >> malala's two friends also injured in that attack. do we have any update on their conditions. >> they were injured as well by the shooting. fortunately they were not in as critical condition and it looks like they'll be okay. >> that's good news. numerous rallies have been held in pakistan in honor of malala and against the taliban. thousands have poured into the streets of karachi, pakistan's largest city on sunday. could this be a turning point in the country's battle against islamic extremists? >> it certainly could be and what we've seen is some really broad-ranking support across the country. very high-profile figures, the prime minister and president have been very vocal about supporting her and condemning these attacks and as we've seen people pouring out in the str t streets and what some said at the rally the other day. >> we don't want taliban anymore in pakistan and after the malala

incident this is about time that people of pakistan stand up. >> you can see here in these people, they are condemning the acts of talibans. >> now, as you can see there, getting a lot of support for malala but this is a lot of urban areas and where the taliban is more strong in the rural traditional areas. that's the key. will it change the minds of the people in the villages? will they say it's a step too far and have to counter the taliban? that's something that still remains to be seen. >> atika schubert live in london, thank you very much. i want to remind everybody the full story where it began, cnn.com, it's a nice chronology of how we got to where we are right now. >> it's an incredible moving story and we're all pulling for malala this morning. 14 minutes after the hour. a lot of news to tell you about. christine romans with the top stories. >> mitt romney and president obama are prepare forego a battle in the suburbs of the big apple, the second presidential debate takes place tomorrow night at hofstra university on long island. romney is rehearsing in bedford,

massachusetts. the president is preparing in williamsburg, virginia. this right here is a live picture from inside the debate hall, 22 days and counting, of course, until election day. former pennsylvania senator arlen specter will be laid to rest tomorrow. he died yesterday of complications from non-hodgkins lymphoma after a long battle with cancer. he served five terms in the u.s. senate most as a moderate republican before switching parties at the end of his career. he was known as one of the true political wild cards. arlen specter was 82 years old. after logging 123 million miles in space, the shuttle "endeavour" reached its final destination and arrived sunday at the california science center where it will soon go on display. it took more than two days to tow it from los angeles international airport over to that science center a. i 12-mile journey. record-setting night for aaron rodders. he threw for a career six t.d. jakess as they handed the texans

their first loss, that leaves only one perfect team in the nfl, the atlanta falcons. they knocked off the oakland raiders 23-20 on a last-second 55-yard field goal by matt bryant. the falcons are now 6-0. there you go. >> that's pretty undefeated. 6-0. can't get much more undefeated than that. >> 15 minutes past the hour. early read on your local news making national headlines. first from "the new york times," the controversy surrounding a school program to combat bullying. encourages students to sit with a classmate they normally wouldn't talk to. started 11 years ago by the southern poverty law center. this year it's being target the by the american family association. the afa claims the project is, quote, a nationwide push to promote the homo sexual lifestyle in public schools. while the splc does support equality and fairness for the

glbt community, it says mix it up at lunch is not about sexual orientation but breaking up cliques. some 200 schools have withdrawn this year but it's unclear why they have done so. lots of controversy there. >> talking about controversy right now. santa clause controversy. the new york post rights about a new version of "'twas the night before christmas." he kicks hi pipe habit cold turkey. he's been smoking for hundreds of years. the author did a rewrite and said it's too pc. leave my story alone. this change is not officially sanctioned by the north pole. there's a big movement saying santa was too fat that he does not promote a fit culture and interviewed santa clause about this. >> what did he say. >> he went negative and told me i was too skinny. he said you're so scrawny, i'm

not going to take abuse from you like you scrawny little twerp. he unloaded on me completely. totally uncalled for. >> 17 minutes past the hour. coming up, the stock market is on the rebound but how much when it comes to the year. christine romans puts it into perspective for us right after the break. u find the same look . okay. see? walmart has all these leading eyewear brands and styles. rockstar! really? yeah. oh, wow! oh, black frame looks good on you. yeah? you can get a complete pair starting at just -- $38. really?! and did you know that our glasses come with a free 12-month replacement guarantee? i didn't know walmart had all this. the price is impressive, the quality is too! come to walmart and see for yourself. find quality eyewear brands starting at just $38. only at walmart. what are they fitting, aliens? your doctor will say get smart about your weight. i tried weight loss plans... but their shakes aren't always made for people with diabetes. that's why there's glucerna hunger smart shakes. they have carb steady, with carbs that digest slowly to help minimize blood sugar spikes.

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stob stocks in about four months. look at the futures right now are up bouncing back a little but last week, last week was a pretty tough week overall for stocks. the dow jones industrial average down something like 2% on the week, the worst performance we've seen all summer so a little bit of a pullback there and mostly because a lot of concerns going forward about global growth, about the u.s. growth forecast. even as we're seeing signs of life in the housing market and elsewhere, watch that, also a big deal, japan's soft bank is buying a huge stake in sprint for something like billions and billions, something like 20 billion and retail sales, 8:30 for the u.s. that will give us a good sign of how the consumer is doing. a lot of earnings so tread carefully here. >> ben bernanke is on a little bit of a rampage. >> ben bernanke with very sharply worded remarks in tokyo to a meeting of imf folks. ben bernanke addressing international critics of the fed's quantitative easing.

the pump has been pumping money into the system and some people around the world is saying this has helped developing countries but hurting developing countries because the inflows of money into their economies is distorting their currency and distorting their finances and bernanke says maybe you shouldn't be holding them artificially weak and maybe you shouldn't manipulate this and it wouldn't have such a big effect. he didn't say china but the world read them as he addressed them and brazil who complained about the fed's policies. >> you know what they seem to be saying, look, we have to get our ship right and if you're okay in the u.s. -- >> you said ship, right. >> with a "p." >> if you have strength in the developed countries that is good for everyone. it lifts trade. it lifts flows, everyone makes money but at this point you've got developing countries have been concerned about rising food prices, commodities markets that have been volume tiff.

currency markets that are volume tiff, so more clear than i've heard on this. >> he's not an emotional guy. it seemed to be a bernanke smackdown >> that's not the way "the journal" puts it. >> i like it. that's a good headline. >> thank you. >> 23 minutes past the hour. >> you want to have something you never want to hear like ever, a navy nuclear submarine collides with a ship off the east coast. seriously. we'll have that story coming up. if you leave the house right now you can watch us any time. go to cnn.com/tv.

just three weeks now until election day and final prep is in full swing for the next presidential debate. we talk strategy, straight ahead. plus lance armstrong may take a lie detector test to prove his innocence. he's accused of taking performance-enhancing drugs. a jump from the edge of outer space. honestly. >> check that out. >> one of the most amazing things you'll ever see. most importantly this was successful. we have brand-new video to show you of this coming up. >> i love watching that. i get nervous every time i look at it. >> i can't believe what it looks like. welcome back to "early start." i'm john berman. >> and i'm zoraida sambolin. 28 minutes past the hour. brand-new poll numbers released this morning show president obama and mitt romney in a statistical dead heat. the latest politico george university battleground poll has obama at 49% and romney at 48%.

and a new poll from abc news and "washington post" shows the president obama with 49%, romney at 46 so these new numbers raise the stakes even higher for tomorrow's debate onni inlong id moderated by cnn's candy crow y crowley. we have ana navarro and richard socarides in the house. thank you very much for joining us. ana, i am going to start with you. let's stay with this poll and look at it closely and asks likely voters regardless of which candidate they were supporting, who they thought would actually win. so before the first presidential debate in denver if we could put that up, 61% of likely voters thought president obama would be re-elected. after the debate that number fell to 53%. what do you make of those numbers? >> i think it talks to you about the volatility of this race,

zoraida. it goes up, it goes down, really it just -- its as mercurial as barack obama's debate performance, on one day, off another and i think you've got to take those numbers one by one. i'm not too gung ho about all those battleground state polls that do one single poll. here in florida, for example, you have mitt romney leading right now with a small lead, i would tell you somewhere between three and four points. in ohio he's about three, four, five points behind. so that's an average of the different states but as we know you win the electoral votes state by state. >> all right, richard, robert gibbs said that the president knows what he needs to do differently. let's listen to that. >> he knew when he walked off that stage and he also knew as he's watched the tape of that debate that he's got to be more energetic. i think you'll see somebody who's very passionate about the choice that our country faces and putting that choice in front

of voters. >> so this is a really different style, a town hall style. what changes do you think we'll see in president obama and given this different style will he have an opportunity to, you know, really step it up? >> well, i think he will. i mean i think what he needs to do is go in and demonstrate that there are two competing visions, two extremely contrasting and competing visions for how to move the country forward and i think the town hall style will help. it adds an element of sponge th spontaneity. if you have real people asking real questions it will really make it -- well, more interesting and more spontaneous so i think that will make for better television. >> ana, what do you think? >> i think he should take a page from the space jumper, drink a gallon of red bull and jump three feet off the stage. but, you know, short of that, look, one of the things he's got

to remember, we are on a split screen now. these debates are on a split screen. you've got to show patience. you've got to show sympathy towards the person asking the questions because they are real people. they are outside the washington bubble. so i would say to both president obama and governor romney, remember the camera is on your face and, you know, regardless of what the question may be, do not look impatient, do not smirk, do not sigh, do not laugh and remember the questioner's name. you know, not only do you have to connect with each other, connect with the audience at home but connect with the audience in that room and the folks asking the questions. >> the poll numbers we're seeing really demonstrate it is a close race and that the stakes are really big and i think that, you know, we say this a lot but i think the next eight days in this race will really be, you know, the most important eight days with the debate, tuesday night and then the next -- the final debate, the proceeding week, i mean i think we're in a

period now where the next president is going to be decided and it does seem to be very close in statistical dead heat. so ana, we asked you about taxes, right? will we get any more details from mitt romney on taxes? you said no and congressman ryan has actually asserted that, in fact, we will not get any more details. that's according to "the wall street journal." do you think romney will be pressed about this or asked that question from the audience and do you think if he doesn't provide any more details, will it hurt him? >> you know, i think that horse has been beaten to death. i think it was an effective issue earlier on in the campaign a couple of months ago. but i think, you know, people have come to the -- to step the fact we won't get any more taxes out of mitt romney and we know what we know. he's rich, incredibly charitable and quite aggressive in lousing the mechanisms available to him

to pay as little as possible. he has a good accountant. do you agree, richard? >> i think you'll hear tonight, tomorrow night a lot more about his swiss bank account, i think you'll hear about, you know, that his failure to disclose his tax situation and i think that, you know, his failure to disclose his own personal taxes is important because it's reflective of the fact that he's unwilling to share with the american people what his plan is for their taxes. i mean he's talked about throughout this entire campaign of lowering taxes on the rich as a way to spur the economy but you can't lower taxes on everybody as he's now saying he's going to do and still generate the same amount of revenue. he'll cut but he won't say where the cuts are. this is a program without any substance which promises everything to everyone and i think that we'll hear a lot about that in the debate tomorrow night. >> ana, do you think we'll walk away with a clear and decisive winner this time?

>> i have no idea. i think one of the big pre-october surprises was the fact we walked away with a clear and decisive loser in president obama last time and do want to disagree with richard who says mitt romney did not disclose his taxes. >> two years. >> i wanted him to disclose more and said that. he disclosed two years and a summary of many other years -- >> summary is a very generous description of what he disclosed for the other years. >> well, yes, but it showed, for example, that, you know, the people who were throwing around the accusation he paid no taxes as in senate majority leader reed were not saying the truth and had no base to say such a thing. he has disclosed taxes. there's a huge difference between he hasn't disclosed any taxes and him disclosed a couple tax returns.

>> two good friends, we have to leave it here. richard is dying to jump in. you'll have an opportunity at 6:00. ana navarro and richard socarides, former adviser to president clinton and writer for the new yorker.com. we'll see you back at 6:00. >> see you, ana. >> cleave political correspondent candy crowley will serve as the moderator. our live coverage starts at 7:00 p.m. eastern time. at that debate the candidates may be asked about the deadly attack last month on the u.s. consulate in benghazi in libya. it was a hot topic yesterday on "state of the union" with candy crowley. was there enough security and who is responsible for it. a supporter for the president says they will answer those questions but the romney side is bobbing and weaving. >> the administration is responsible. countries that provide us

consulates and missions are responsible for keeping those people safe and secure and an investigation is what the president and the secretary of state have asked for so that we can understand directly all the things that happened. >> the house held a hearing on the attack. the senate is planning its own investigation. a pentagon investigation is under way after a u.s. nuclear submarine collided with another vessel. navy vessel during a weekend trading exercise. the submarine "montpelier" and the cruiser "san jacinto" came into contact. both continued on their own power and no word from the navy as to the extent of the damage there. >> so you don't like to hear nuclear vessel in an accident. >> no. >> cyclist lance armstrong is still trying to clear his name as being implicated as a ringleader in an elaborate doping scheme. he may be willing to take a lie detector test to prove it. arm strong is poised to lose his

record seven tour de france titles after being named in a 1,000-page report by the anti-doping agency. the first bcs poll is out and alabama is on top of a 42-10 dismantling of missouri on saturday. the s.e.c. is looking strong once again. check out the bcs top ten, the top two teams, alabama and florida play in the southeastern conference and four s.e.c. teams are in the -- >> it feels like alabama and then everyone else. that's one man's opinion. massachusetts woman has been reunited with her two golden retrievers. penny blackwell thought baxter and bailey were gone for good. their double leash broke and went missing for 2 weeks then baxter showed up at a friend's house and led peggy deep into the woods right to bailey on his leash but wrapped around a bush. he believes they were trapped

until baxter broke free and ran for help. let's hear it for baxter and bailey. some of the best video you'll see today -- >> or ever. >> yeah, ever, daredevil felix and his jump to earth from the edge of outer space. yep, spin ago way out of control as a matter of fact. stay with us. [ male announcer ] the 2013 smart comes with 8 airbags, a crash management system and the world's only tridion safety cell which can withstand over three and a half tons. small in size. big on safety. why does my mouth feel dryer than i remember it to be? there are more people taking more medication, so we see people suffering from dry mouth more so. we may see more cavities, bad breath, oral irritation. a dry mouth sufferer doesn't have to suffer. i would recommend biotene. the enzymes in biotene products help supplement enzymes that are naturally in saliva. biotene helps moisten those areas that have become dry. those that are suffering

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♪ the one and only, cheerios [ male announcer ] gly nimble, ridiculously agile, tight turning, fun to drive 2013 smart. ♪ welcome back to "early start." he broke the sound barrier and lived to tell the tale. somehow. austrian daredevil fearless felix baumgartner shattered records with a blood curdling leap from a balloon perched 24 miles up falling faster than anyone thought was humanly possible. the most amazing sites you will ever see. brian todd watched it all unfold. >> away. >> with a heart-pounding hop,

felix baumgartner makes history. he jumps from 128,000 feet above the earth, 24 miles up. higher than anyone before him. during free fall he spun for a few harrowing moments but stabilized quickly. >> started spinning so violently, it spun me around in all different exits and i was always trying to figure out how to stop this. putting one arm and it didn't work but you're always late because when you travel at that speed with that suit and it's pressurized you don't feel the air at all. >> reporter: he broke another record. no one had ever gone through the sound barrier outside a vehicle. he reached a top speed of more than 700 miles an hour, well past the speed of sound. free fall lasted 4:19 before his parachute opened. that's sohort of the record but after he safely touched down the man known as fearless felix was hailed as anary row space pioneer. >> hard to realize what happened because there's still so many emotions.

i had tears in my eyes when i was coming back a couple of times. because you're sitting there and you thought about that moment so many time, you know, how it would feel and look like and this is way bigger than i anticipated. >> reporter: it had been five years in the planning. in baumgartner's ear during the ascent colonel joe kitinger, the man whose record he broke. kitinger jumped from 102,000 feet in 1960. i interviewed them together earlier this year. are you jealous of felix that he's going to break your record. >> no, i'm delighted he's going to do it. he's advancing science, and he'll do a great job. >> reporter: mission leaders and space officials hope this jump will show them if astronauts, space tourists or high altitude pilots can survive for any extended period outside a vehicle if there's a malfunction. if it held up as expected, baumgartner's high-pressure suit could be the next generation suit for future missions. what will felix baumgartner do next? he told me that after this jump, he wants to pursue an occupation

as a helicopter rescue pilot. might be a bit of a letdown. brian todd, cnn. later on "starting point." nik wallenda joins soledad to talk about "360's" death-defying feat. i have to say this, we watched that amazing video. him jump from like a billion feet in the air and what's the first thing you say? >> what did i say? >> you said he's really cute. >> that wasn't the first thing i said. i actually thought how does he put his mother through that, you know, because she was there. tears in her eye. >> that was the fifth thing you said. not true, anyway, i cannot tell this guy anything. this one you don't hear often, a coach not a football player gets a concussion. a concussion during practice. that story straight ahead. ♪

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48 minutes past the hour. here's christine romans. >> president obama and mitt romney square off in a second presidential debate tomorrow. both are off the campaign trail. the president is preparing in williamsburg, virginia and the gop nominee is getting ready in bedford, massachusetts. cnn's candy crowley moderates the debate at hofstra university. the 14-year-old pakistani girl shot in the head by the taliban is being flown to britain. malala yousafzai will be treated at a facility for children with severe injuries. the taliban tried to kill her because of her outspoken support for the right of pakistani girls

to get an education. what's believed to be the first government sanctioned prisoner exchange in syria happens over the weekend. a human rights group says rebel fighters traded the son of a government official for two prisoners sentenced to death. the same group reporting troops pushed the rebels back regaining histor to control of a mosque in aleppo. 220 people died yesterday. two down, two to go for the tigers after beating the yankees in the second game of the american league championship series. >> go, tigerers. >> they shut out the yanks 3-0 to take a lead back to detroit. do i have to do the sports stories because you can't -- >> he has problems with these. >> the st. louis cardinals open the nlcs with a victory over the giants, game two is tonight in san francisco. first base coach roberto kelly is recovering from a conditi

concussion that forced him to sit out, the 48-year-old kelly was hit in the back of the head with a foul ball during giants batting practice on saturday. right. he's going to miss tonight's game two in san francisco. right smack in the back of his head. >> you got to be careful. those balls go flying everywhere. we hope he's okay. >> i'm sure he'll be fine. >> 15 minutes after the hour. go, tigers. tropical storm rafael is gaining strength, it's still hurricane season. detroit tigers fan rob marciano -- >> i know he's a yankees fan. >> a painful morning with jeter out. rafael, that sounds like it could be a great shortstop name. maybe he can fill in for jeter and win a game three. it'll be tough. moving at ten miles an hour, 300 miles north of puerto rico. no threat to the u.s. but still notable because we're so late in the season. it's probably going to become a hurricane here in the next day or two and maybe make a run at bermuda right now. the forecast track to bring it east of bermuda and maybe head

it off toward greenlad or iceland or europe. that's not a big deal for the u.s. although it would bring in waves and rip currents into one of those -- if you're a late seeing beachgoer. it's warm enough for that. temperatures mild ahead of this front which has scattered showers down to the south heading across north georgia and parts of alabama. some of these are garden variety type thunderstorms, nothing too severe at the moment. incredibly dry, really 80 or 90 past days. portland, less than a quarter of inch of rain and all the spigots have opened up. matlock, q quillayute, over 2 inches. so cal, by the way, warm and dry with the santa ana winds blowing and it pushes across the coast. temps well into the 70s in places like boston, john berman, which is where most folks are on vacation right now.

>> enjoying some time off. rob, run to a television set. you have to see this video. an nfl network reporter, his first year on the job gets smacked in the face with a football. that really happened. we'll show you how he recovered on live television coming up. ♪ leaving my homeland ♪ playing a lone hand ♪ my life begins today ♪ ♪ fly by night away from here ♪ ♪ change my life again ♪ ♪ fly by night, goodbye my dear ♪ ♪ my ship isn't coming ♪ and i just can't pretend oww! ♪ [ male announcer ] careful, you're no longer invisible in a midsize sedan. the volkswagen passat. the 2012 motor trend car of the year. that's the power of german engineering.

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welcome back. it is 56 minutes after the hour. i am still john berman along with zoraida sambolin taking a look at what is trending on the web this morning. folks are checking out some classic nfl trash talk on twitter. i find this unfortunate but i will read it straight, richard sherman caught an session off of

the glorious patriots quarterback tom brady. afterwards he tweeted a picture saying, you mad, bro. he put out a second picture of a sad-looking tom brady with the caption brady looks like he turned the 12th man against us and he said patriots, fan, mad, l out loud talking about super bowl rings, what have you done lately, oh, you're 3-3. they won zero super bowl. >> were you on twitter chiming in. i stayed up for the end of the game and went to sleep angry. >> 57 minutes past the hour. another marriage bites the dust. russell crowe and his musician wife have separated. the couple's been married for nine years and have two children. they were on the set of the film "the crossing." that's sad. >> ever know what it's like to cover a national football game and work in the national football league?

it can be bruising down there. just ask nfl network reporter ian rapoport. >> there have been questions about the defense ranked 21st. had an interesting talk with offensive coordinator -- with -- did you see that football? >> i saw it. >> anyway, anyway -- >> did you just see the football hit me? >> yes. we saw the football hilt you in the face. he handled it like a pro on live tv. his first season working for the nfl network. no word on how that football happened to find him. we give him serious props because that's not easy. >> i think he did it on purpose. >> next hour we'll throw footballs at zoraida and see how she handles it. >> oh, all right. see what i throw at you. >> "early start" continues right now. >> brand-new polls out this morning in the race for the white house. this comes just before round two

of the presidential debates this week. so we'll break down the numbers for you. that's happening straight ahead. >> plus, big, new developments this morning on the 14-year-old girl in pakistan shot in the head after standing up for the rights of girls to get an education, the latest on her recovery coming up. an epic smackdown. the yankees lose again to the detroit tigers. we have the low lights coming up. >> it is a glorious, glorious morning. >> oh, shush. good morning to you. welcome to "early start." we are happy you're with us. i'm zoraida sambolin. >> and i'm john berman. it is 6:00 a.m. in the east. >> so we'll begin with the highly anticipated rematch, the second presidential debate is just a day away and the race is as tight as it gets. two brand-new polls to tell you about this morning. first from "the washington post" and abc news, the president with a slim three-point lead among likely voters. that is well within the poll's margin of error. it's even closer in this

political george washington university poll that was released one hour ago. the president's lead among likely voters, just one point. so this is a statistical dead heat. in the battleground states of poll has mitt romney ahead of the president by two points. of course, that's essentially tied and whiletied. while the abc news/"washington post" poll shows the president with a five-point lead in the battleground states. are you following me here? cnn political director mark preston is live from hofstra university on long island. the scene of tomorrow night's crucial debate. i don't know if anybody's following these polls. it is statistically a dead heat. >> yeah, no doubt, zoraida. we can boil it down to this, the race is essentially tied right now nationally in some of the battleground states. barack obama has lost some ground, given the fact that he had such a lackluster performance a couple weeks ago in his first presidential debate. mitt romney hoping to build upon his strong performance. you know, robert gibbs, one of the senior advisers for

president obama, was on "state of the union" yesterday with candy crowley and gave us a little bit of insight about what to expect to hear from the president tomorrow night. let's hear what he had to say. >> we walked up onstage and he also knew as he's watched the tape of that debate that he's got to be more energetic. i think you'll see somebody who's very passionate about the choice that our country faces, and putting that choice in front of voters. >> and you know, ed gillespie who is a senior adviser for mitt romney was on the same program with candy crowley. he said it is about a choice. it's about a choice for the next four years. let's hear what he had to say. >> choice election, and the fact what we saw is even if he changes his style, and whatever political tactic the president settles on as being in his best interest for this debate he can't change his record and he can't change his policies. >> you know what, zoraida? there's so much on the line.

36 hours from now we'll have the second presidential debate. mitt romney, matched up against barack obama here at hofstra university right behind me. zoraida? >> so there is a change of style, right? it's a town hall meeting. so what can we expect? >> well, zoraida, we're going to hear questions now from uncommitted voters that live here in new york. new york is not a battleground state. it will go for barack obama, we strongly expect it will go for barack obama on election day. but we'll be hearing directly from voters. hearing what questions they have for the candidates. also the candidates are going to be sitting on high chairs and they're going to be able to walk around the stage, zoraida, perhaps give it a more intimate feeling than in the first presidential debate and certainly from the vice presidential debate from last week. mitt romney will get the first question, zoraida, and there will be no closing statements in this 90 minute debate tomorrow night. >> we are really looking forward to it. mark preston live for us. thank you. just ahead we'll get reaction

from ana navarro and former senior adviser to president clinton, richard socarides. and cnn's candy crowley moderates the debate live tomorrow night. special coverage starts at 7:00 eastern right here on cnn. the 14-year-old pakistani girl shot in the head by the taliban is on her way to britain at this hour. the flight carrying malala yousef day is expected to land later this morning. she'll be treated at a facility for children with severe injuries. the taliban condemns her western thinking. the search for the body of a 19-year-old university of new hampshire student has been suspended as the suspected killer is about to appear in court. searchers have been searching for elizabeth marriott's body around pierce island in por

portsmouth. today, a martial arts instructor will be arraigned on second degree murder charges. black back recordings from the costa concord yeah are expected to be on display this week. 30 people were killed when the ship ran aground. italian authorities have charged the captain with manslaughter. he is also accused of abandoning ship. the detroit tigers now halfway to the world series. they beat the new york yankees 3-0 in the bronx in the second game of their american league championship season. the tigers winning the first two games. they did it, again, in yankee stadium. game three tomorrow in detroit. justin verlander on the mound for the tigers. that will be tough for the yankees. meanwhile the st. louis cardinals draw first blood in the nlcs. the cards beat the san francisco giants 6-4. they will play game two tonight. >> are you familiar with the name felix baumgartner? >> yes, he's the crazy -- >> the whole world.

he did it. the austrian daredevil rose to the edge of space, 24 miles up and jumped. breaking the sound barrier on the way down. >> sometimes you have to get up really to see how small you are. i'm going home now. >> jump away. >> that's the jump that i find absolutely crazy. >> i don't know that i could have jumped. at one point baumgartner was falling at 833.9 miles per hour. he landed safely in the new mexico desert. baumgartner says his final jump, he plans to become a helicopter rescue pilot. >> all right. it is now five minutes after the hour. more than 200 people now infected with fungal meningitis in 14 states across the country. our medical unit is standing by live in atlanta to bring us the latest details. this really is alarming. stay with us.

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so fast and smooth, you'll forget you had heartburn. ♪ tum tum tum tum tums [ male announcer ] tums smoothies. welcome back to "early start." nine minutes past the hour. i'm zoraida sambolin. >> and i'm john berman. contaminated pain injections have now sickened 205 people. 15 people have died of fungal meningitis. but there are real people behind those numbers. people who went in for medical help and ended up dying. cnn medical correspondent, senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen spent time with the family of one such man. >> lord give us the strength to go forward. >> reporter: something's missing

in the lovelace house. five generations gather in mourning. eddie lovelace, husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, sunday school teacher at his church, and a circuit court judge in albany, kentucky, dead, a suspected case of fungal meningitis. >> he was the center of our universe as a family. >> reporter: he was a healthy 78-year-old man. worked full-time, walked three miles a day. when in the middle of september, he started feeling dizzy and slurring his speech. >> he was in the kitchen and he said, my legs don't work right. he said there's something wrong with my legs. >> reporter: lovelace had had a stroke. lovelace died five days after being admitted to the hospital. >> it was a nightmare. >> reporter: later the doctors put it together.

lovelace had been in a car accident and received three injections with steroids for back and neck pain. the medicine he received was likely made by the new england compounding center. after his death, these injections were recalled because of fungal contamination, which can cause strokes. now all his family can do is remember the devoted public servant, the grandfather who let his granddaughters play with barbies behind the bench when they were little, while he heard court cases. >> what kind of a man was your dad? >> he was the most intelligent man that i've ever met. his memory was uncanny. if you needed advice, irregardless of what the subject was, you could always take his and trust it. >> reporter: his family looks back and asks why. >> the decisions to save money, the decisions not to regulate drugs, decisions not to oversee these facilities, those

decisions affect lives every day. and if different decisions had been made at certain points along the way, my father would be here today. >> reporter: i mean your father just went in for really a very routine procedure. >> he did. and he went there for pain relief. he went there to get help. >> reporter: and he died. >> yeah. >> elizabeth cohen joins us live now from atlanta. elizabeth, this is such a tragedy. and the question we all want to know is, is was this preventable? the judge's son seems to indicate that he thinks his father would be alive if the drug had been regulated properly. >> all right, john, there's no question question the general consensus is these compounding pharmacies are not regulated as much as they should be and that the bulk of the regulation is done by the states. there's a lot of talk in congress now about having better federal oversight and federal regulation of these compounding pharmacies because this is not the first time that there's been an outbreak in connection with these compounding pharmacies.

>> all right. elizabeth cohen in atlanta. thanks very much for being with us this morning. >> that's really tough to watch, isn't it? 12 minutes past the hour. let's get you up to date. here's christine romans. >> good morning. president obama and mitt romney are off the campaign trail and busy gearing up for tomorrow night's second presidential debate. it takes place at hofstra university on long island. romney is getting ready in bedford, massachusetts. the president is preparing in williamsburg, virginia. this is a live picture from inside the debate hall. our own candy crowley moderates. our live coverage begins tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m. eastern. when it comes to the presidential race, comedian stephen colbert says there is a difference between president obama and mitt romney. but he says he doesn't know what that difference is. colbert clarified what he expects to see from both obama and romney on nbc's "meet the press." >> i think there's a possibility that obama would be, say, more aggressive -- a more aggressive performer in the second act of

his presidency. and i don't really know how -- i also don't know how mitt romney will govern. he might govern as a technocrat. that sort of seems to have been his career. unlike the guy from pepsi who comes in to run gm. he can't tell us what he's going to do because he hasn't seen the books yet. >> i think that was stephen colbert the person, not the comedian you saw there. colbert said he would not run for office, adding i've said terrible things with a straight face. could you imagine the political ads that could be run against me. longtime senator arlen specter is being remembered as a mentor and a political institution in pennsylvania. he served 30 years in the senate, most as a republican before switching to the democratic party in 2010. specter died sunday at 82 after a long battle with cancer. in a statement vice president biden said, quote, arlen specter was a great senator who lived his life the way he died, with dignity and courage. he was my friend, and i admired him a great deal. aaron rodgers rewriting the

record books. he threw a career high six touchdown passes as green bay handed the houston texans their first loss of the season last night. only one unbeaten team remains in the nfl, the atlanta falcons. i have a terrible time saying that this morning. they knocked off the oakland raiders 23-20 on a last-second field goal. the falcons are 6-0. mitt romney's raised some eyebrows when he mentioned big bird by name during the first presidential debate saying he wants to cut federal funding for pbs. now sesame street fans fighting back with plans for a million muppet march to take place november 3rd in washington, three days before the election. >> didn't know there were a million muppets. >> yeah. >> that will be interesting to see. tropical storm rafael gaining steam but it's still hurricane season. let's get to rob marciano for the latest. >> good morning. 300 miles north of puerto rico. almost a hurricane can winds of 70 miles an hour. drifting further from the

caribbean. it will make a run at bermuda and be close enough to the u.s. and be strong enough to roll up some tides and maybe some rip currents across the eastern seaboard. there's your track over the next few days. also watching hurricane paul, that's in the pacific ocean. and that's going to make a run at the baja, california, maybe bring some moisture into that part of the world. speaking of tropics, certainly feels fairly tropical across the northeast right now. temperatures are in the 60s. 63 scranton. 64 in the big apple. 61 in boston. it will be a little bit humid, certainly. and we've got a little front that's going to be pressing across the i-95 corridor later on today. right now not a whole lot of action to it to the north. certainly after 2:00, 3:00, expect showers across new york, philly, baltimore, d.c., and up through boston, as well. down across the south right now, moving across atlanta where there are some showers and thunderstorms hitting the atl. speaking of showers, not so much thunderstorms but rain finally across the pacific northwest. boy, it has been incredibly dry. they typically don't get rain during the summer. but they had less than a tenth of an inch over an 80 day

stretch in seattle. now the faucet has opened up. rainfall amounts yesterday, 3.28 in matlock. and very active pattern setting up here. not only for the pacific northwest, but much of the northern tier, and they'll get more rain up there. dry, warm santa annas across so cal. may cause some severe weather across the low country of the carolinas. warm across the northeast. 68 degrees and fairly soupy. behind the front not very cool. 60 degrees in chicago and 89 in los angeles. still summer out there. >> thanks very much, rob. soupy northeast this morning as you put it. >> enjoy. >> 17 minutes past the hour. coming up the stock market is on the rebound. but just how much when it comes to the year? christine romans puts it into perspective for us after the break.

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the potential of freescale unlocked. nyse euronext. unlocking the world's potential. at meineke i have options... like oil changes starting at $19.95. my money. my choice. my meineke. 21 minutes past the hour. we are minding your business this morning. let's start with stocks and how they're doing so far this year. christine romans has a little look for us. >> well, futures are up this morning so we'll watch the dow, nasdaq and s&p 500 to see if that holds true. data coming out at 8:30. so things could change. and coming off the worst weeks of the dow in more than four months. still up 7% this year. but last week was tough. the year, though, you've got monetary stimulus from the fed.

you've got all kinds of signs that the u.s. is sort of the only game in the world at the moment. that's why stocks are doing well for the year. this week is a pretty big week for investors. there's a sprint deal, a $20 billion deal for 70% of sprint. the retail sales data out at 8:30. housing data and all these earning reports. 40% of the s&p 500 companies are going to report earnings this week. so, wow, buckle up because you could see a lot of whiplash from that. in terms of housing, you've heard me saying this for months but it looks like we're seeing a bottom here. here's the reason. we've got rebounding home prices. rebounding construction. we've got foreclosures now at a five-year low. there still are a lot of foreclosures happening but banks are managing the whole process. the fed pushing mortgage rates to near record lows. you've never been able to refinance so cheaply with 15-year money. less than 3%. and barclays capital put out a report recently forecasting that home prices, which fell by more than one-third after the bubble burst in 2007, could be back to peak levels as soon as 2015.

>> huh. >> and prices would rise by a percent or more annually. among the more bullish housing reports i've seen that one from barclays. >> that soon? >> others have it more like ten years further out. so, we'll see. but just the fact that we're talking about this shows you that some of this early signs of a bottoming in the housing market might be true. the one thing you need to know about your money today, when the front page of "the washington post" has a story about home flippers you know the bottom in housing is in. until now the money in real estate has been made by people with cash and by international investors. the recovery is now spreading to people who live in their homes. it's early the housing recovery, but it is real. >> are there still certain parts of the country really suffering? we know nevada was one. >> the west is still lagging. the west is still lagging. there are still parts of california that are just blown out. just completely blown out. and where you haven't seen a stabilizing in jobs, that's been a harder part -- harder places for the housing market to start to rebound. but it's so interesting, you know, when you talk about flippers, in particular.

this got a very bad reputation at the height of the bubble. then at the end, when the whole bubble burst. but now, the flippers have been cash investors, international investors, but now people who aren't like mega millionaires are starting to do this again. they're finding properties in their neighborhoods, they're buying them, mostly for cash. the is still hard to get credit, and they're turning them around and starting to make a profit again. these are the things that smooth out the rough edges of a rough bottom in the housing market. >> what's interesting about this particular story, which is on the front page of "the washington post," this is 25-year-old guy who's making about $125,000 a year flipping homes. he says while all of my friends can't find jobs working 9:00 to 5:00, this is what i'm doing and it's working out. it's not for everybody. >> you have to have access to cash in the first place to be able to buy the houses. >> can't believe what you told me before, a barclays report saying we'll be back at peak by 2015. >> wouldn't that be something? >> that would be extraordinary. >> in some zip codes things are already coming back. it's where there's jobs and where the economy is growing. >> i'd like to see those zip

codes. >> cnn money has a whole spread of this. i'll tweet it and send it to you. >> all right, thank you. thanks christine. >> 24 minutes after the hour. you do want to see something, you never want to see like ever? a navy nuclear submarine collides with a ship off the east coast. sounds alarming. we will have that story coming up. and if you're leaving the house right now you can watch us any time on your desk top or mobile phone, cnn.com/tv. one.

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of course, some stories are bigger than others. a story. okay guys, here we go. everybody say, 'cheeeeeeeee-eeeeeese'. got it.

just three weeks to go until election day and final preps in full swing this morning for the next presidential debate. we will talk strategy straight ahead. >> plus, a teenage girl who contracted a flesh-eating bacteria makes an extraordinary recovery. so good, in fact, that she was able to make it to her homecoming dance. >> that's great. and then a jump from the edge of outer space. look at this. . >> oh. >> most importantly, this was a successful jump. we promise. and we have brand-new point of view video of that jump coming up. >> you would have to push me, berman. >> i'd be willing. >> no way i would jump. >> i would. >> that's terrible. i just walked right into that one. welcome back to "early start," i'm zoraida sambolin. >> i'll john berman. it is 29 minutes after the hour right now. and we have some brand spanking new poll numbers just released this morning. it shows president obama and mitt romney in a statistical dead heat.

a brand-new poll from abc news and "the washington post" shows the president with a 49% lead over mitt romney, who's got 46%. and the latest politico, george washington university battleground poll out just minutes ago has the president at 49% and mitt romney at 48%. these new numbers raise the stakes even higher for tomorrow night's presidential debate on long island, this is live picture of the debate hall right now. that debate not rated by cnn's very own candy crowley. joining us to talk about this second presidential debate, ana navarro, former adviser to jon huntsman and john mccain and cnn contributor. and right here in studio, richard socarides, former adviser to president bill clinton. ana, i want to start with you. we've been talking about the effects of the first presidential debate and how mitt romney seems to turn this race around. there's a very interesting statistic from this new politico/george washington university poll. they add, who do you think will win the election? before the first debate, people said president obama. 61% said president obama.

after the first presidential debate, it was just 53%. there we go. there's the magic number right there so you can all see it. 61% before the first debate. afterwards, 53%. it really seemed to change the perception of this race. so does it change the expectation game, ana, going into the second debate? >> i think it has changed the expectation debate. i think the expectations on president obama are not as high as they were in the first debate. the first debate, the question asked of many people was, who do you expect to win the debate, and it was overwhelmingly president obama. i think he's got an advantage in that now. people just expect him, you know, he shows up and smiles and speaks up every now and then, he's done better than he did in the first debate. that being said, i think what we've seen, john, is, you know, little bumps here and there, that then dissipate. there was the post-democrat convention bump that lasted for a week or two. there's now this post-presidential debate bump. now, the second debate is so

high stakes because it will go from being a one-shot thing, to being a narrative. and i think mitt romney understands it's part of him continuing the momentum, and president obama understands it really is about him surviving to live to fight another day. and you know, this race we're going to see very, very close. >> you say maybe the expectation is not as high for president obama. it's interesting, because some liberals are still setting the bar quite high for the president. andrew sullivan writing again in the daily beast that he's been in full-scale panic mode. now he writes what the president has to do now is so nail these next two debates, so obliterate romney in both, that he can claw his way back to victory. but if he manages just evenly-matched debates, let alone another romney win, he's a goner. so, richard socarides, our resident democrat here, if the president -- >> resident liberal. >> if the president doesn't win this debate outright he is, in fact, a goner like andrew sullivan says? >> i don't think he should do

what andrew sullivan suggests. because i don't think we want this vision of like a clawing president is not exactly what you want. but he's got, you know, he's got a big challenge. he's got to be more aggressive. and most importantly, he's got to be clear about what the two competing visions are for the country. there are two, this is an election of stark contrasts. there are two very different competing visions for the country. and he has to really lay that out. >> but ana said it, andrew sullivan said it, they said if the president doesn't win this next debate he's a goner. do you agree with that? >> well, i think that a lot of the first debate showed how much of an impact these things can have. i think that you'll see a very different barack obama tomorrow night. i think he will be much more aggressive. i think he will be on his game. i think clearly he said that he was having an off night. i don't think he'll have another off night. >> can i get an answer now? is he a goner if he doesn't win this debate? >> i don't think he's a goner. i think that he has an advantage. it's very hard to bet an incumbent president. so i think whileose, if you ask would win, i would say he probably will win.

and i don't think that the debates will really determine -- will change that. i mean i think that no matter what happens in these next two debates, the odds are in his favor. because it's very hard to beat an incumbent president, and because there are some, you know, some quirks to the electoral college that favor him. >> one of the most interesting things that i think with these debates is what happened immediately after them. how people frame them, how they're described in the media, on tv. how the campaigns use them. the romney team has put out a new ad based on the debate between joe biden and paul ryan. i want to play a little bit of that. >> we can't keep spending and borrowing like this. we can't keep spending money we don't have. did they come in in a very tough situation? absolutely. but we're going in the wrong direction. look at where we are. >> so, ana, is the biden laugh now part of this narrative? >> i think so, john. you know, i think there's something very interesting that has happened here. look, that debate, the vice

presidential debate, really there was no great memorable line. there was no unforgettable gaffes. the only memorable thing about it was the sarcastic, continuous interruptions, laughs, smirks, by joe biden. and as the days have gone by, it's almost, you know, permeated the narrative that much more. it's grown, not gotten less, in the last few days. it's what comedians have used for fodder. so yes, i think it is a big issue, and it is bothering a lot of people. >> one of the things that we also hear from both of these debates, ana, to be fair, is the lack of specifics from mitt romney and paul ryan on their tax plan. they just haven't filled in the blanks there. democrats hammering them every day to fill in the blanks. at what point do you think that becomes a political liability? >> i'm not sure that it will become a political liability. i think that you know -- >> don't want -- >> as a human being, not just a republican and a democrat, don't

you want more specifics in that tax plan? >> john, i'm a woman. i want all sorts of specifics. you know, everything i want everything written in stone, let's just understand that. but, but you know, look, we are three weeks away from the election. i can tell you that in battleground state florida, where i'm sitting this morning, almost 350,000 people have already voted absentee. early voting begins. you know, people are voting already. it's not -- it's hard for something to become a new liability now that's been out on the table for awhile. what can become a liability, for example, is new developments and new facts coming out on the benghazi investigation. but this thing with the mitt romney tax plan, he's already said, look, i'm not going to give you specifics because i'm going to work with congress if elected like i did in massachusetts where i did it in a bipartisan way. and that's what you're going to get from him. take it or leave it. >> he is delivering on his promise of no specifics. that's for sure.

richard, let me give you the last word, ten seconds or less, what's the headline on wednesday morning? >> obama is back in the lead. >> you have your fingers crossed when you're saying that. all right, richard socarides, ana navarro in miami. always great to see you. calling for something of a tax prenup in this campaign. we'll see if that ever materializes. thanks a lot, ana. cnn's candy crowley moderates the presidential town hall debate tomorrow live, and our coverage begins at 7:00 p.m. eastern time right here on cnn. >> all right, thank you very much. pretrial hearings begin today at guantanamo bay, cuba, for khalid shaikh mohammed. the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks. and four of his accused co-conspirators. lawyers will argue whether the public has a right to know how the men were treated at the cia so-called black detention sites. and if the u.s. constitution applies at guantanamo. the families of 9/11 victims can watch the proceedings at four military installations on the east coast. and pentagon officials want

to know exactly why a u.s. nuclear submarine had a collision at sea with another navy vessel. this happened off the east coast during a weekend training exercise. no injuries were reported when the submarine "montpelier" collided with the cruiser "san hassano." no word yet from the navy as to the extent of the damage there. the senate plans to hold an investigation into the attack in benghazi that killed four americans including ambassador chris stevens. whether there was enough security was a topic yesterday on "state of the union" with candy crowley. an adviser to mitt romney says the white house has not provided a consistent answer. >> vice president biden directly contradicted the sworn testimony of the state department in the debates the other night. >> the administration is responsible. countries that provide us consulates and missions are responsible also for keeping us -- keeping those people safe and secure. and an investigation is what the president and the secretary of state have asked for so that we

can understand directly all the things that happened. >> the house held a hearing, of course, on that attack last week. >> a maryland teenager recovering from a flesh-eating bacteria has been all smiles over the past few days. 16-year-old alexis hanford went to her homecoming dance saturday night. a day earlier, she was crowned homecoming princess. about two months ago, hanford cut her leg after launching herself off a rope swing and into a lake. she's endured 18 surgeries to get rid of the infection. nice to see her smiling. >> good for her. all right this coming up is some of the best video you will see today or any day ever for your entire life. daredevil felix and his jump to earth from the edge of outer space. this is what he saw as he was plummeting a billion and a half miles to the ground. we'll show you more. stay with us. up your game. up the ante. and if you stumble, you get back up.

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it's time for a very special guest. soledad o'brien joins us with a look ahead with what's on "starting point." >> the second debate. this one in long island, or as i like to say strong island. president obama, mitt romney getting ready for that debate. new polls show the race is getting even tighter. this morning we're going to talk to mark mckinnon from the no labels campaign. former new york city mayor rudy giuliani will be my guest. delaware governor jack markell will join us. also the pakistani teenager who was shot in the head by the taliban now heads to england for her medical care. got a live report straight ahead from islamabad. and the presidential election means gold, comedy gold.

"saturday night live" of course. late night laughs, as well. take a look at how it works, what makes a successful political comedy. all that and much more ahead at 7:00. >> and thank you so much. zoraida? >> fearless felix baumgartner living up to his name. the austrian daredevil going where no skydiver has gone before. shattering records with a death-defying jump from 24 miles up, falling faster than the speed of sound. cnn's brian todd watched it all unfold. >> with a heart-pounding hop into the stratosphere, felix baumgartner makes history. he jumps from 128,000 feet above the earth. 24 miles up. higher than anyone before him. during free-fall he spun for a few harrowing moments but stabilized quickly. >> started spinning so violently. spun me around in all different directions, and i was always trying to find out how to stop this. i was putting one arm out.

didn't work. you're always late because at that speed when you travel at that speed, with that suit pressurized you don't feel the air at all. >> reporter: in those first seconds he broke another record. no one had ever gone through the sound barrier outside a vehicle. baumgartner reached a top speed of more than 700 miles an hour. well past the speed of sound. free-fall lasted 4 minutes 19 seconds before his parachute opened. that's short of the record for the longest free-fall in history. but after he safely touched down, the man known as fearless felix was hailed as an aerospace pioneer. >> realize what happened right now because there's still so many emotions. i had tears in my eyes when i was coming back a couple times because you're sitting there and you thought about that moment so many times, you know, how it would feel and how does it look like. and this is way bigger than i anticipated. >> reporter: this mission had been five years in the planning. in baumgartner's ear during the ascent colonel joe kitinger, the man whose record baumgartner broke.

kitinger had jumped in 1960. i interviewed baumgartner and kitinger together earlier this year. are you jealous of felix, that he's going to break your record? >> he's advancing science. and he'll do a great job. >> reporter: mission leaders and space officials hope this jump will show them if astronauts, space tourists, or high altitude pilots can survive for any extended period outside a vehicle if there's a malfunction. if it held up as expected baumgartner's high pressure suit could be the next generation suit for future missions. what about felix baumgartner do next? he told me that after his jump he wants to pursue an occupation as a helicopter rescue pilot. might be a bit of a letdown. brian todd, cnn, washington. >> that's an understatement. all right later on "starting point," world renowned high wire artist nick wallenda joins soledad to talk about felix baumgartner's death-defying feat. and he's accused of abandoning ship. now the captain of the doomed italian cruise ship is getting his day in court. we're going to have a live

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we have breaking news to tell you about at this hour. these are live pictures. it is a three-alarm fire in new york. specifically the bronx. we understand that this fire broke out on east 184th street.

that's near injujerome's avenue right after 6:00 a.m. that 2 1/2 story building is engulfed in flames. they're calling it a private house. firefighters are now worried that that fire is going to spread across. if we take a wider picture of that we were on earlier, the homes there are near each other. and although there's a lot of fire -- a lot of smoke that we're seeing, they are concerned that that could potentially jump to one of the building that is next door. >> this video from our affiliate wabc. when firefighters arrived it was a two-alarm fire but quickly jumped up to a three-alarm fire. that's why they're so worried that this could spread throughout the block and the area. we will be watching that as the morning continues. >> we have no word of any injuries. but it's very early here. we'll continue to monitor the situation for you. >> all right. 51 minutes after the hour right now. the captain of the "costa concordia," italy's doomed cruise ship, is in court right now in a pretrial hearing. the giant ship capsized in january killing 32 people. the captain is charged with manslaughter and abandoning

ship. survive evers of the disaster are also in court this morning. our senior international correspondent ben wedeman joins us now live from rome. and ben, experts are expected to reveal the black box data in court today. isn't that right? >> that's correct. that's one of the key pieces of evidence they're looking at, because unlike a lot of the other evidence that they've got, which is really sort of he said, she said, this will provide hard data on exactly what happened on the night of january 11th, 2012, when this cruise ship, which is the size of three football fields, carrying more than 4,000 crew members and passengers, hit a rock just off the italian coast. >> two americans, a husband and a wife from minnesota, we remember their pictures so well, they were victims in this disaster. will their relatives be attending the hearing? >> as far as we know today they are not there. their relatives are not there. we understand that there are

only about 10 survivors in this courtroom. but there are american lawyers representing american nationals, as well as other nationals who are interested not only in what happens in this evidentiary hearing today, but they're interested in taking carnival cruises, which is the parent company of the italian company that ran this cruise ship, taking them to court, and so they're very interested in hearing what comes out of these hearings this week. >> there is a lot of legal activity surrounding this mishap and one that may surprise a lot of americans here. the former captain has filed a lawsuit for wrongful termination. >> yes, that's the 52-year-old captain francesco sketeno who, in fact, seems to be taking the attitude that the best defense is a good offense. this is a man who claimed that he tripped and fell into one of the lifeboats. and that explains why he wasn't the last man off the ship. when this disaster occurred.

he is taking costa cruise company, which owns this ship, to court for wrongful dismissal. his claim is that if it weren't for the actions he took that fateful night, even more people would be dead as a result of this disaster. >> all right. ben beadman live in rome this morning. the hearings beginning today in that disaster off the coast of italy. thank you very much. >> it is 53 minutes past the hour. 54 minutes exactly. so let's get you up to date on this morning's top stories. president obama, mitt romney, square off tomorrow night in the second of three presidential debates. the president is preparing in williamsburg, virginia, and the gop nominee is in bedford, massachusetts. two new polls this morning show the race is a dead heat. cnn's candy crowley moderates the debate at hofstra university on long island, and our live coverage kicks off at 7:00 p.m. eastern. the 14-year-old pakistani girl shot in the head by the taliban is due to arrive in britain in the next few hours. malala yousef zi is being blown

to a hospital in birmingham, england. the taliban tried to kill her because she publicly defied them by insisting that pakistani girls have a right to education. the nobel committee in sweden is getting ready to announce the winner for economics. that is happening in a matter of minutes. the big announcement is coming up at 7:00 a.m. eastern time. and we are going to tell you who the winner is. >> so stay by your television. meanwhile, on the road to the world series. the detroit tigers, they're halfway home. the tigers made it two straight over the yankees, in the bronx, in the american league championship series. they won 3-0 yesterday in a shutout game three tomorrow in detroit. justin verlander on the mound for the tigers. in the nlcs the st. louis cardinals drew first blood. they jumped out to a 6-0 lead, and then they held off the giants for a 6-4 win. game two tonight in san francisco. really, no team hotter than the cardinals right now. and today's best advice coming up after this quick break. stay with us. [ male announcer ] this is rudy.

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>> >> it is 58 minutes after the hour. >> we wrap it up as always with best advice. >> our best advice comes from world renowned economist alyce rivlin. >> the best advice i ever got was from warren buffett who said i've often been sorry that i didn't speak up. i've never been sorry when i did. >> isn't that cool? >> it is. >> pretty much always have to look to warren buffett. >> she's been talking a lot about how congress could get its act together and try to fix the fiscal cliff. she says she's seen progress. she says they know they've got to fix it. that's good advice. >> all right. that is all for "early start" this morning. i'm john berman. >> and i'm zoraida sambolin. "starting point" with soledad o'brien starts right now. >> our starting point, ready for round two. mitt romney, president obama prepare for their next debate as the campaign es up the ante. >> i think yo